Each student will choose a topic from the list below. You will then complete a written report meeting the following criteria:
LENGTH AND FORMAT: Your report should be approximately 600 words in length, which is around two pages typed, double-spaced. Typing is required.
SOURCES: You must have at least two sources for your report (maximum one encyclopedia, minimum one non-Internet). There are no other restrictions on the sources you may use. You must cite them all using proper MLA format. DO NOT PLAGIARIZE!!!
CONTENT: You need to develop a thesis statement (like a topic sentence in a paragraph) and include it in the introduction to your paper. You should then organize your paper into three or four body paragraphs, each consisting of a main argument in support of your thesis. Go beyond a simple report on your topic and offer an analysis of how this issue/person/event affects people and nations. Try to explore the causes and effects, the “why” as well as the “what.” Make sure that you organize your content and that you follow the rules or grammar and usage we have discussed! You must turn in the OUTLINE/PLANNING SHEET with your written report!
In addition to the written reports, each student will also make an oral presentation to the class. The oral report should meet the following criteria:
LENGTH: Your presentation should be around three minutes long. This means that you will need to practice at home to make sure that what you intend to say fits into the allotted time frame!
CONTENT: Much like the written report, provide an overview/summary and also indicate significance/importance. Organize your material, make an argument, and remember that you are teaching this information to the rest of the class.
PRESENTATION: You should use one 3X5 note card to reference. It is imperative that you practice in order to do this well.
DUE DATE: Friday May 12
Boxer Rebellion - anti-foreigner rebellion in Confucius - influential Chinese teacher and thinker Dalai Lama - spiritual and political leader of Daoism – influential Chinese philosophy earthquake/tsunami – Japan quake of March 2011 Great Wall of China - begun in the 200s BC to protect China’s border (NOT visible from space!) Ho Chi Minh - communist leader of Honda, Soichiro - founder of the motor company by the same name Khmer Rouge - brutal leaders of Cambodia in the 1970s Korean War - Cold War conflict from 1950-1953 Mao Zedong - leader of Communist China until his death in 1976 Marcos, Ferdinand - dictator of the Mongols - Asian warriors who briefly controlled the world’s largest empire Opium Wars - series of battles between British and Chinese in mid-1800’s rice - cultivation and importance of this key Asian crop samurai - traditional Japanese warrior class Shintoism - Japanese naturalism/animism Suharto, General - longtime dictator of Sun Yat Sen - Chinese Nationalist leader until his death in 1925 Suu Kyi, Daw Aung San - Nobel laureate and activist in Taiping Rebellion – mid-1800s uprising against the Qing led by ‘God’s Chinese Son’ Tet Offensive - 1968 attack during Vietnam War Three Gorges Dam – the world’s largest dam and largest hydroelectric plant Zen Buddhism – naturalist variation of Buddhism prominent in Japan